Top munis, co-ops provide insight into 2013 trends, investments

01/07/2013

Sponsored by

Tantalus

Tantalus, a provider of smart grid communications, has released the results of its users conference survey that asked North America’s top public power utilities to address concerns and investment priorities in 2013. The company surveyed more than 40 of its utility customers at the fifth annual Tantalus Users Conference.

The municipal and cooperative utilities surveyed cited consumer/ratepayer concerns (42 percent) as the No. 1 issue they need to address in 2013. These findings demonstrate the public power industry’s focus on adopting new technologies that keep rates low and minimally impact customers. Additional survey questions reflect this trend as well:

Voltage reduction (46 percent) and direct load control (35 percent) — both of which are advanced applications that decrease loads and rates — are the top two smart grid applications surveyed utilities will implement in 2013.

Customer education was the third-most popular choice for utilities’ selecting their top investment priorities of 2013, above security enhancements and billing solutions.

The results illustrate a key factor that drives decisions in the public power market — munis and co-ops answer to their local governments and communities, unlike investor-owned-utilities (IOUs), which cater to regulators and investors that seek quick return on investments. Consequently, munis and co-ops are dedicated to working closely with their constituents while adopting applications that promote cost-effective and efficient service with minimal impact on customers.

Other key survey findings include:

Most respondents (44 percent) say completing their existing smart grid deployments is their No. 1 investment in 2013. The second-largest group of respondents (34 percent) named add-on applications as the focus of their investment.

Only 8 percent of respondents believe future strain, such as electric vehicles and solar on the grid, will be a top concern for utilities in 2013.

Of the utilities that indicated they are planning to hire in 2013, most are seeking to fill positions in meter support to sustain deployment completions.